The Science of Deduction Does Not Extend to Relationships

Chapter 12: Daddy's Back in the Game

Chapter 12: Daddy’s Back in the Game

            Sherlock, John, and I arrived about twenty minutes later at the inn we would be staying at.  While John was speaking with the man at the reception counter I walked around outside to stretch my legs from the train ride.  My mind was wandering to thoughts of Sherlock.  Why has he been acting so strangely the past few days?  First, he practically molests me to get cigarettes and then he was acting so oddly on the train with the way he stopped that creep…

            I was pulled from my thoughts when I crashed into the guy who runs the Hound tours for the inn.  “Oi watch where you’re—oh I’m sorry miss, I didn’t see you there,” he smirked after looking me up and down.  “Are you lost? I’d be more than happy to—”

            “Mind if I join you?” Sherlock asked coming over and sitting at the table we were standing next to.

            “There you are dear.  I’d wondered where you’d gotten to,” I giggled overdramatically and sat next to Sherlock, taking his hand in mine. 

            “Thought I’d run away, had you?” He joked before turning his attention to this tour guide guy.  “It’s not true, is it Fletcher? You haven’t actually seen this ... hound thing.”

            Fletcher looked at the pair of us suspiciously.  “You from the papers?”

            “No, nothing like that. Just curious. Have you seen it?” Sherlock insisted and I smiled to myself at the irony of the journalist question.

            Fletcher smirked at Sherlock.  “Maybe.”

            “Got any proof?”

            “Why would I tell you if I did?  ‘Scuse me,” he made to walk away, but just as he did John walked over to the table. 

            “I called Henry—”

            Sherlock cut John off.  “Bet’s off John, sorry.”

“What?” John asked.

This seemed to peak Fletcher’s interest. “Bet?”  Finally he began to open up to Sherlock about this dog thing, and when I say open up, it was as though a damn had broken open.  Although his evidence wasn’t too fantastic, he sure had a lot of it and John ended up getting money out of the deal in order to keep up the appearance of a wager.

“So, when are we heading to this Baskerville place?” I asked Sherlock curiously a little while later as we sat in our room getting ready.

He refused to make eye contact as he answered my question.  “John and I will be leaving in a half-hour.”

“What do you mean you and John are going?” I asked.